ASERCCA (Association for Social and Economic Research into the
Caribbean and Central America)
1997 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Portsmouth, 19-21 September 1997
The Conference is scheduled to commence on Friday 19 September at 5
pm (The full Conference programme will be published in due course)
with a Plenary Session given by Doctor Elizabeth Dore entitled "The
Myth of Modernity: Perspectives on the Sandinista Revolution and its
Aftermath." This will be followed by a reception at Spitbank Fort, a
Napoleonic sea-fort in the middle of Solent water.
The seminar programme will commence after breakfast on Saturday 20
September, with final sessions programmed for the morning of Sunday
21 September.
The price for the Conference (excluding accommodation) will be stlg80.
Those booking and paying before the 30 June 1997 are entitled to pay
the lower price of stlg70. Full payment must be received, at the latest,
by 10 SEPTEMBER. ASERCCA membership (optional) of stlg25 can be paid
together with the conference fee. Payment can be made by either
cheque or credit card to the "University of Portsmouth." Cheques
should be sent to Andy Thorpe, c/o Department of Economics, Milton
Site, Locksway Road, Southsea, Hants PO4 8JF. Further details on
Portsmouth, the University and the Conference Programme itself (only
after August 1997 in the case of the programme) can be directed to the
same person either by writing, telephone (1705-844251), fax (1705-
844037) or email (Thorpea@pbs.port.ac.uk).
WORKSHOPS
Participants are invited to present a paper at the Conference in one
of the six workshops (see below). Please send a title and an abstract
of 100-300 words to the convenors of the workshops before 15 August.
1. CUBA AT THE CROSSROADS?
Convenor: Tony Kapcia, School of Languages & European Studies, Univ.
of Wolverhampton, Stafford street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SB, United
Kingdom. Tel: +44 1902 322455, Fax: +44 1902 322739.
Any revolution must inevitably be seen 'at the crossroads' at almost
any moment in its evolution; that is no less true of the 38 years of
change in Cuba since 1959, given the internal tensions and pressures,
the repeated economic crises, the growing social pressures, and last
but by no means least, the constantly and dramatically changing
external context in which the Cuban leadership has been required to
act and to which it has, throughout, been asked to react. Thus, the
particular crisis which befell Cuba from 1989 may be seen as simply
the latest in a long line of crises since 1959, albeit one of a scale
and a long-term significance which far outweigh any preceding ones;
to say that the Revolution (if one can indeed still call it that) has
been facing the threat of its own extinction since the collapse of
the Socialist Bloc is surely no great exaggeration. This panel will
therefore address three issues:
* How far can the present crisis be set in a context of the last 38
years?
* To what extent are the Cuban leadership's policies succeeding in
getting the system out of the crisis?
* In which (new) directions is the Revolution now going and what
are the implications for the future?
2. SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE TRANSITION TO PEACE
AND DEMOCRACY IN CENTRAL AMERICA
Convenor: Perla Cohen, GRAL/IPEALT, c/o Latin American Institute,
University of Toulouse Le Mirail, 5, Allees Antonio Machado, F-31058
Toulouse Cedex, France. Tel: +33 561 504395, Fax: +33 561 503625, e-
mail: cohen@cict.fr
The aim of the panel is to go beyond the strict electoral and
institutional aspects of these "democracies" and try to understand
the changes that have occurred, not only in economic terms but
also at the level of a new consciousness and culture. The panel may
include, among other things, contributions on NGOs, on ideological
and political transformations, and on communications.
3. POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN
Convenor: Francois Taglioni, University of Paris Sorbonne, Mail
address: Chemin St. Honorat, 83160 La Valette du Var, France. Tel:
+33 4 9461 4009, Fax: +33 1 4432 1438.
Participants are invited to present papers on one of the following
themes:
* Population and poverty
* Population and sustainable development
* Consequences of the new Association of Caribbean States
* The impact of Caribbean migration (to Europe and North America)
on West Indian Societies
4. GENDERED SOCIO-ECONOMIC RELATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN
Convenors: Sarah Bradshaw, Third World Studies, School of Geography
and Environmental Management, Middlesex University, Enfield, London.
Phone: +44 181 362 6438, fax: +44 181 362 6538; Cathy McIlwaine,
Queen Mary and Westfield College, Univ. of London; Renate Rausch,
Department of Sociology, Philipps-University, Wilhelm Roepkestrasse 6,
D-35032 Marburg, Germany, Fax: +49 6421 286642, Tel: +49 6421
284720/1, E-mail: rausch@nws.fb03.uni-marburg.de
Rather than concentrating on just one issue, the session seeks to
draw together a wide range of papers covering a number of issues. It
is hoped that the session will include both conceptual and empirical
contributions. Key concepts for discussion may include households,
kinship and ethnicity and how these interact with wider socio-
economic structures. At the same time papers considering issues
surrounding gender roles and relations such as employment, migration,
poverty and restructuring would also be welcome. The session would
not be limited to contemporary perspectives, but would hope to
include papers adopting an historical analysis also.
5. TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Convenors: Geske Dijkstra, Institute of Social Studies, P.O. Box
29776, 2502 LT The Hague, Netherlands, phone: +31 70 4260 558, fax:
+31 70 4260799, e-mail: dijkstra@iss.nl and Anders Danielson,
Department of Economics, University of Lund, PO Box 7082,
S-220 07 Lund, Sweden, phone: +46-46-2228673, fax: +46-46-222 41 18,
e-mail: NEKADA@mail.ec.lu.se
Most countries in Central America and the Caribbean were relatively
late in implementing macro-economic and institutional economic
reforms. Now, all countries have at least some experience with
these reforms. Growth of GDP seems to have been restored, at last, in
the region. However, the question is whether this growth will be
sustainable. The workshop welcomes both country case studies
and comparative analyses, focusing on (one of) the following four
aspects of this sustainability:
* Long-term growth requires investment in both human and physical
capital. Did these investments come about? Is growth accompanied
by productivity increases based on increased skills of the labour
force and technological development?
* Economic and political sustainability is also determined by the
extent to which the population benefits from growth. Is economic
growth accompanied by a reduction in poverty, and what happened
to the distribution of income?
* External debts of the countries in the region are large, and
internal debts are growing. As a result of financial reforms,
government debts are increasingly financed by domestic borrowing.
What is the sustainability of economic reforms in view of these large
debts? In particular; (i) does the external debt constitute a debt
overhang, reducing incentives for improving the external balance?
(ii) does increased internal government borrowing lead to a "crowding-
out" of private investment through, for example, high interest rates
and/or reduced government incentives to fight inflation?
* In the long-term, sustainable growth requires the careful
exploitation and management of natural resources. What is the
impact of economic reforms and growth strategies on these natural
resources, and what can be done to make growth more sustainable in
this respect?
6. MARKETS AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL
AMERICA
Convenors: Ruerd Ruben, Department of Development Economics,
Wageningen Agricultural University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN
Wageningen, Netherlands. Tel + 31 317 482486, Fax: + 31
317 484037; E-mail: ruerd.ruben@alg.oe.wau.nl; Johan Bastiaensen,
UFSIA, Antwerpen, Prinsstraat 13, B-2000 Antwerpen, Belgium, Tel: +32-
3-2204186, Fax +32-3-2204420, E-mail:
ddw.bastiaensen.j@alpha.ufsia.ac.be
The convenors of this workshop would like to hear as soon as
possible:
a) your interest to participate in the ASERCCA seminar
b) the title and an abstract (max. 300 words) of your presentation
in the workshop
c) the preferred workshop topic where you would like to present your
paper.
The general objective of the workshop is to address major
problems faced by small peasant producers in Central America with
regard to exchange on factor and commodity markets and the
consequences of market failures for rural organization and local
governance structures. Discussion will be focused on an understanding
of the structure and performance of 'real markets' in the rural
settings and the related perverse incentives arising from the
segmentation on land market, the rural financial market, and the
labour market.
Since competition on rural markets is far from perfect, limited
access to markets and/or information on market alternatives may force
the peasantry to advanced selling of their harvest. The reduction of
credit and extension services make small producers strongly dependent
on the private sector. Market monopolies and clientilism force
peasants to adjust their production systems. Consequences of these
market and institutional failures for land use, technology choice and
the income position of small producers will be analyzed. Local
initiatives by NGOs or farmers organizations to improve market
information and the bargaining position of local peasant communities
require thorough analysis.
During the workshop presentations are scheduled on the following
five topics:
* Introduction
Introduction to the subject; general review of the structure of
rural markets in Central America; social, economic, and
institutional dimensions of rural markets.
* Historical background: market development and commoditization
Rural development and the emergence of markets; migration and
infrastructure expansion; urban bias and terms of trade;
* Market exchange and market failures; actors, chains and
transactions. Land reform and land market dynamics; land market
reforms and rural tenancy; rural financial markets and the role of
NGO credit; labour markets, migration and off-farm employment
* Market failures and the dynamics of the peasant economy
Impact of market failures on food security and land degradation;
missing markets and the possible incentives for investment in soil
conservation; prospects for low external input agriculture;
* Institutional exchange and the role of local governance
Local initiatives for processing and marketing of peasant
products; economic support programmes through peasant
organizations; preferential trade arrangements (e.g. Max Havelaar,
Fair Trade).